The taxpayer-funded Australian ABC TV "Q&A" program (see: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/ ) for Monday 17 May 2010 will involve 2 panellists, the Australian Labor Government Minister for Finance, Mr Lindsay Tanner, and the Liberal Party-National Party Coalition Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey.

The following questions with a bearing on economic, financial and fiscal matters have been submitted to "Q&A" and directed to both panellists. . Since on past performance it is unlikely that any of these Elephant in the Room Key Questions will be asked, they are reproduced below together with succinct answers that are provided with detailed documentation in the interests of public education.

Reading Barbara Kingsolver's novel "The Lacuna" (the hiatus, blank, missing part, gap, cavity, empty space) I was struck by the following relevant passage (part 3, p159, Faber & Faber, London, 2009 edition): ""But newspapers have a duty to truth", Van said. Lev [Trotsky, Russian Communist revolutionary and theorist] clicked his tongue. "They tell the truth only as the exception. Zola [French novelist of "J'accuse" fame] wrote that the mendacity of the press could be could be divided into two groups: the yellow press lies every day without hesitating. But others, like the Times , speak the truth on all inconsequential occasions, so they can deceive the public with the requisite authority when it becomes necessary." Van got up from his chair to gather the cast-off newspapers. Lev took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. " I don't mean to offend the journalists; they aren't any different from other people. They're merely the megaphones of other people.""

1. Question for both panellists: I do a full time academic’s undergraduate teaching part-time in 10% of the time for 10% of the money. Well-superannuated and semi-retired I do this for love of teaching and not for the money. But what about the 50% of academics who are casual or contract employees? What happened to the “living wage”?

Answer. Under neocon Labor Australian “working families” typically need 2 incomes to house, feed, clothe, educate and care for their children. Neocon Labor has betrayed the fundamental 19th century labour movement demand for a “living wage” (see “Living wage”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage ). .

2. Question for both panellists: it has been revealed that Israelis routinely forge Australian passports for criminal and terrorist purposes. Should Australia consider a Super Tax on all Australian visitors to Apartheid Israel to cover the huge border protection cost to Australia of such fraud after they hand over their passports to criminal Israeli authorities?

Answer. Yes. Indeed while Australia spent about $10 million persecuting the innocent Dr Haneef for giving his unusable-in-Australia $20 simcard to his UK cousin it has done nothing about the possibly tens of thousands of Australians who (now knowingly) hand over their Australian passports to criminal Israeli state terrorists each year (see “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”: http://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/racist-zionism-and-israeli and “50 Ways Racist Zionists (RZs) & Israeli State Terrorism (IST) threaten Australia & YOUR country too”: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article19618 ).

3. Question for both panellists: many self-funded retirees including superannuation holders have investments in Mining Shares that have plummeted due to Labor policy.. In imposing a punitive Super Tax on Mining, ostensibly to help employee superannuation, isn’t the Government robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Answer. Yes.

4. Question for both panellists: an elderly lady was left modest but ample retirement assets by her late husband including cash management trust shares, Telstra shares and mining shares – but these have been savaged retrospectively by Labor “picking winners”. How can people plan for their loved ones in this reckless environment?

Answer. They can’t confidently plan for the financial security of their loved ones in current circumstances except by punishing financially incompetent Labor at the ballot box – they should simply Put Labor Last inorder to protect their loved ones.. .

5. Question for both panellists: as set out by 300.org and others, top climate scientists, economists and analysts advocate a Carbon Tax and slam the Carbon Trading ETS approach as empirically ineffective, counterproductive and fraudulent. Where do the Government and Opposition stand on Carbon Trading versus Carbon Tax?

Answer. The pro-coal Labor Government opposes a Carbon Tax but is locked in to an ineffective, counterproductive and indeed fraudulent Carbon Trading Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The conservative Coalition Opposition and the sensible, pro-environment Greens are both sensibly opposed to Labor’s ETS approach. For 36 opinions of top climate scientists, economists and analysts slamming the ETS approach and variously advocating a Carbon Tax see “Science & economics experts: Carbon Tax needed NOT Carbon Trading”: http://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/sciennce-economics-experts-carbon-tax-needed-not-carbon-trading .

6. Question for both panellists: top climate scientists like Dr James Hansen and top climate economists such as Lord Stern say that failure to act now will make man-made climate change vastly more expensive. Yet anti-science Labor has done nothing in its first term and promises no action until 2013, and that counterproductive. Why?

Answer. Australia is a world leader in annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution. Thus “annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution” in units of “tonnes CO₂-equivalent per person per year” (2005-2008 data) is 0.9 (Bangladesh), 0.9 (Pakistan), 2.2 (India), less than 3 (many African and Island countries), 3.2 (the Developing World), 5.5 (China), 6.7 (the World), 11 (Europe), 16 (the Developed World), 27 (the US) and 30 (Australia; or 54 if Australia’s huge Exported CO₂ pollution is included). Australia is the world’s biggest coal exporter and a major exporter of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) (see “Australia's Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution has increased under Labor”: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/australia-s-ghg-pollution ). . One can only conclude that pro-coal Labor is doing nothing simply because it is pro-coal.

7. Question for both panellists: racism- and genocide-based Apartheid Israel is a world leader per capita in state terrorism, nuclear weapons, the Ecstasy trade, people smuggling and the illegal trade in human organs – and all this involves routine and preferential forging of Australian passports. Why won’t pro-Zionist Labor intervene to protect Australian sovereignty?

Answer. Labor is in receipt of huge financial support from Australian Zionists (including the proceeds of crime from Australia’s biggest white collar criminal). Pro-Zionist puts its friendship with race-based, war criminal, genocidal, nuclear terrorist, human rights-abusing Apartheid Israel and its potential or actual dual citizen Zionist supporters before the vital border security and sovereignty interests of Australia (see “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”: http://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/racist-zionism-and-israeli and “50 Ways Racist Zionists (RZs) & Israeli State Terrorism (IST) threaten Australia & YOUR country too”: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article19618 ).

8. Question for both panellists: World Bank analysts have recently estimated that the man-made annual greenhouse gas pollution is 50% bigger than previously thought and that livestock contribute more than 51% of the bigger figure. Yet the Rudd-Turnbull ETS permanently excluded agriculture from consideration. Why?

Answer. Good question. For recent estimates from world Bank analysts that livestock contribute over 51% of annual man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, see “Environmental effects of meat production”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_effects_of_meat_production ; “Livestock Emissions: Still Grossly Underestimated?”: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6297 ; and Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, “Livestock and Climate Change”: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6294 .

9. Question for both panellists: Shortly after it was revealed that Israel regularly forges Australian passports for criminal and terrorist purposes, the Australian Government signed a $349 million defence deal putting the Australian sovereignty-violating Israelis at the heart of Australia’s defence and border security. Why?

Answer. Labor is in receipt of huge financial support from Australian Zionists (including the proceeds of crime from Australia’s biggest white collar criminal). Pro-Zionist puts its friendship with race-based, war criminal, genocidal, nuclear terrorist, human rights-abusing Apartheid Israel and its potential or actual dual citizen Zionist supporters before the vital border security and sovereignty interests of Australia (see “Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to Australia and Humanity”: http://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/racist-zionism-and-israeli and “50 Ways Racist Zionists (RZs) & Israeli State Terrorism (IST) threaten Australia & YOUR country too”: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article19618 ).

10. Question for both panellists: miners are not the only people to benefit from our non-renewable national resources of land, sea and air. If a retrospective 40% Super Tax can be applied to our vital mining industry why not to any other business impinging on these resources through greenhouse gas production in a largely carbon-based economy?

Answer. If Labor is so patently committed to punitive taxation of profitable businesses to the point of quasi-nationalization, why not?

11. Question for both panellists: donations toward Apartheid Israel’s ongoing Palestinian Genocide are tax deductible in Australia but, conversely, donations to orphanages and hospitals in what the Catholic Church has called Israel's Gaza Concentration Camp may attract life imprisonment under Australian anti-terrorism laws. Why?

Answer. Dual citizen racist Zionists have disproportionate influence in Australia. They should be sidelined as have been other genocidal, racist organizations such as the Nazis, neo-Nazis and KKK. Under Australia’s draconian anti-terrorism laws, that in practice are anti-Arab anti-Semitic and Islamophobic, a Muslim meeting his zakkat (alms-giving) obligations by giving money to a Gaza orphanage or hospital could face up to life imprisonment (see “Anti-Terrorism Act 2005” : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Terrorism_Act_2005 ). .

12. Question: one hopes that both Labor and the Coalition, unlike the US and Israel, acknowledge and condemn the Armenian Genocide (1.5 million Armenians killed, 1915-1923). However they are both variously complicit in the ongoing Palestinian Genocide, Iraqi Genocide and Afghan Genocide (post-invasion excess deaths 0.3 million, 2.5 million and 4.5 million, respectively). Why?

Answer. Good question. For details of the Armenian Genocide see “Denial. History betrayed” by Tony Taylor (Melbourne University Press), “With Intent to Destroy” by Colin Tatz (Verso), “The History and Sociology of Genocide. Analyses and Case Studies” by F. Chalk, F. and K. Jonassohn, K. (Yale University Press, New Haven & London), “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950) by Gideon Polya (G.M. Polya; see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/2008/08/body-count-global-avoidable-mortality.html ) and “The Politics of Genocide” by Edward S. Herman and David Peterson (Monthly Review Press). Post-invasion violent and nopn-violent excess deaths in the Occupoed Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories now total 0.3 million, 2.5 millionand 4.5 million, respectively) (see “Muslim Holocaust, Muslim Genocide”: http://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ .